EEPOET OF THE ACTING SECRETARY. 83 



present one or more delegates from each of the following named countries : 

 Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Holland. India, Italy, Japan, 

 Mexico, Russia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States of 

 America, whose delegate, appointed by the Smithsonian Institution, was Dr. 

 Leonhard Stejneger, of the United States National Museum. 



In the International Convention is vested the supreme control of the Cata- 

 logue, and in the beginning of the undertaking it was agreed that its meetings 

 should be held in 1905, 1910. and thereafter every ten years. At the meeting 

 in 1905 the convention was expected to pass judgment on the value and impor- 

 tance of the project and on the advisability of continuing the work beyond the 

 first period of five years, which will end with the publication of the volumes for 

 1905. Another important subject before the convention was that of reviewing 

 and, if necessary, revising the classification schedules as originally agreed on. 

 Regarding the first question it was unanimovislj^ resolved : 



" That in view of the success already achieved by the International Catalogue 

 of Scientific Literature, and of its great importance to scientific worlvers, it is 

 imperative to continue the publication of the Catalogue at least for a further 

 period of five years." 



The classification schedules were referred to a committee, who, after having 

 met and considered all suggestions from the various bureaus throughout the 

 world, decided to continue the general methods in use up to that time, though 

 making many minor changes in the schedules. Some additions were required, 

 to fill omissions in the original schedules, and others also were necessars'^ to. 

 pi'ovide suitable places for the numerous scientific subjects which had devel- 

 oped since the beginning of the enterprise. 



The zoological section of the Catalogue, through an understanding with the 

 Zoological Society' of London, will become amalgamated with the Zoological' 

 Record, which has been for years the standard zoological yearbook. By this 

 method the International Catalogue gains the services of some of the foremost 

 zoologists in the world. 



All of the references to zoology collected by the various regional bureaus of 

 the catalogue throu,ghout the world will be submitted for approval to the ex- 

 perts of the Zoological Society, who, in the future as in the past, will be in 

 charge of the Zoological Record, which, beginning with the literature of 1906, 

 will be published as the zoology volume of the International Catalogue. 



Early in 1901 the actual work of preparing the International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature was begun, and during and since that time the Smith- 

 sonian Institution has felt obliged to allot each year a sum of money fi'om its 

 own limited funds to carry on the work in this country. The Institution has 

 each year felt that even the small sum set apart for the work was a serious 

 drain on its resources, and each year the hope was entertained that Congress 

 would make a suitable appropriation for carrying on the work on behalf of the 

 United States. 



At a meeting of the Board of Regents on .January 24, 1906, it was decided to 

 approach Congress in the hope of obtaining financial aid. By the authority 

 thus given the Institution took the necessary steps to bring the matter to the 

 attention of Congress, with the result that an item was inserted in the sundry 

 civil bill worded as follows : 



" International Catalogue of Scientific Literature : For the cooperation of the 

 United States in the work of the International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- 

 ture, including the preparation of a classified index catalogue of American 

 scientific publications for incorporation in the International Catalogue, the ex- 

 pense of clerk hire, the purchase of necessary books and periodicals, and other 



